The Space In Between
by WitchyGirl99
Summary: It was her. Always her. Inuyasha was running - always running - but it was hard to escape when he kept meeting that raven-haired beauty with soft, brown eyes. InuKag.


**Author's Note:** **Day 2 of the 12 Days of Witchyness!**

 **This is a repost of a story that was initially removed from FanFiction. I honestly don't know why. Kind of funny though, because this was before the rise of Instagram and all those other platforms. Another thing to note is that this story does discuss a serious illness in which the character has survived. I am not a medical professional and thusly, any inaccuracies please forgive.**

* * *

 **The Space In Between**

* * *

The date was Sunday, November 14th 2010 when he first laid eyes on her.

She was frail, tiny and hardly capable of moving. Her hands shook, pale flesh in stark contrast with the draping black sweater. Her hair was mostly covered by a hat, but he could see the black, short strands were darker than the midnight sky. It looked like she was only hours away from knocking on death's door.

For the first time in his life, the man watching her froze.

The bookstore was quiet, the only sounds echoing in the tiny building those of flipping pages and low murmurs. The woman in the wheelchair was struggling; he could see it as her shaking hands lightly skimmed the spines of hardcover books. She studied the colourful designs, moving slowly down the line as the romance section changed to fiction. Finally something changed. The raven-haired woman looked up, reached… Whatever she was after was too high.

The man stopped and waited. Surely this woman wasn't alone, especially in her state. Someone would come and help. Someone had to.

He waited for exactly thirty seconds, realizing only then that no one was coming.

Silently he cursed, telling himself to leave while his feet started to move – not away, but towards her. It was a decision he hadn't made consciously, even though he couldn't imagine an alternative. The wheelchair was now within touch, and he could smell her, the scent heavy with chemicals and a light touch of shampoo – the generic kind, something that was meant to clean and not refresh. The woman was sick. He could put two and two together.

"What do you want?"

The woman in the wheelchair jumped slightly, and it was then that everything changed. She looked at him, and the man felt his entire world just…shift. Everything about the woman was pale, fragile. She was too thin, obviously tired but with a lot of rest. And yet, her eyes were more alive than anything he had ever seen before.

Her lips moved, a quiet voice filling the room but he didn't listen, merely staring. It wasn't until the woman's brow rose ever-so-slightly that he snapped out of it. "Sorry, what was that?"

" _Pride and Prejudice_ , I've never read it." The woman looked back up at the shelf hopefully. "It's supposed to be worth the read."

"What's your name?"

Again the woman look startled, frowning at him now. "Why do you care?"

"My name is Inuyasha," the man said, licking his lips nervously. "What's your name?"

There was a long pause, a moment where he wondered what exactly he was doing here, helping a woman get a book when he hadn't really helped her at all so far. Finally the woman sighed delicately. "It's Kagome," she answered. "Will you please get me my book now, because if you won't I'll just ask someone else."

"You hadn't asked me." Inuyasha felt the need to point it out, despite the fact his entire presence in front of the female was beyond ridiculous.

Laughter rang out, the sound almost too loud for such a small body. Kagome shook her head. "Are you okay? As far as I remember, you're the one that came over here and asked – rather briskly I'll add – what I wanted. Who are you even? Do you work here?"

It was Inuyasha's turn to laugh a little, looking away towards the books. Most of them were well-used; the spines well-bent and tattered at the ends. How many hands had touched each one? How many people had come to read them, only to be given back and put out immediately once more? "No, I don't work here." Truthfully, he had only come inside because the air was cold outside – frozen considering winter was finally starting to set in. He had seen from the large glass storefront window the promise of a fireplace. All he had needed was a few minutes to warm up.

But that's when he had seen her.

He searched the shelf, directing his attention towards where her gaze once was. Finally he spotted it, a light green colour and well-worn. The script was white, cursive and Inuyasha had to double-check to make sure it was the right book before he took it and handed it down to her. "This is the one, right?"

Kagome took it gingerly, and Inuyasha had to bite his lip when he saw the way her hands lightly shook. What was wrong with her?

"Are you here alone?" he asked, watching as her big eyes skimmed the cover of the classic.

Kagome looked up, raising her brow again. "Why does it matter?"

"I just–" He cut himself off because he knew he was bad at talking, bad at dealing with people. Surely telling her that she looked like she needed taking care of wouldn't go over any other way but terribly. "I was curious."

"Right," she responded, lowering her eyes. He could hear the trace of sarcasm in her tone. "Well thank you very much."

Inuyasha nodded, not knowing what to do. He stood there, waiting for something – approval, a dismissal, anything to give him headway. "Do you live around here?"

"You're pretty nosy for a stranger I've only met a few minutes ago," Kagome replied. "I'm sorry for repeating myself but, what does it matter?"

Why did it matter? Inuyasha shrugged, unable to formulate a proper answer. "I was trying for conversation?"

"You're trying for conversation with me?" The woman seemed surprised. Her eyes searched him, heading tilting as she studied his features.

"Why not?" Inuyasha asked, staring at her. How old was she? he wondered. Her body looked tired but her big eyes were lively, enrapturing. What was her story?

"Hey Kagome, are you– Oh, I'm sorry." A man with light brown hair and blue eyes suddenly appeared in the aisle, looking somewhat worriedly between them.

"Don't be," Kagome replied, rolling her eyes. "He was just helping me get a book." Those big eyes turned up towards him, and Inuyasha took in the chocolate brown orbs. "Thank you again."

"You're welcome," Inuyasha murmured, noticing how the other man had stepped very close to Kagome, his blue gaze intense. "It was…nice meeting you." He didn't want to turn around, to walk away. Surely he'd never see her again. And why would he want to? They had maybe said a handful of words to each other.

"You too," the woman whispered, the book _Pride and Prejudice_ resting in her lap as her small hands touched the arm rests of her chair.

Inuyasha spared once last glance at the other man before turning around, exiting the bookstore. The air was cold, making his skin crawl with gooseflesh. Why had he even stopped in the first place?

It didn't make sense, but Inuyasha realized it wasn't worth it to figure out. He'd never see the woman in the wheelchair again, surely not with whatever illness was making her shake like that.

Finding the nearest bus stop, Inuyasha leaned against the frozen metal pole and waited. He was a runner, always running, and this was no different.

He had yet to ever finding anything – or anyone – to make him want to stay.

* * *

The date was Sunday, December 23rd 2012 when he was so hungry that he literally couldn't take another step until something was in his stomach.

The money in his possession was small, only a few coins of little value. Inuyasha had been on the move far too much lately, unable to find a place he wanted to rest at for a bit. Usually his travels included periods of long roads and tired feet, followed by one or two weeks of slight stability in a small town with labour-filled work. He had to live somehow – no one was going to pay him to search for something he couldn't quite find.

The diner was small, in a tiny town that only existed off of a highway ramp. There was a gas station and that alone seemed to be the heart of it. The diner sat right beside, with snow lightly covering the ground from the winter chill. Inuyasha slowly lowered his backpack, opening the large compartment for a small pouch inside. He grabbed it, checked the cash he had on hand before determining he could get at the very least a slice of some dessert, maybe a pastry if they had them. He entered the diner cautiously, tugging his backpack onto his shoulders once more as he took in the place. Definitely in need of redecoration, but cozy in its atmosphere. It was warm too, and after hours of running outside it was like a heavenly relief. There were a lot of people inside – far more than Inuyasha expected – but he guessed that's what happened to small towns that literally had nothing else. Almost every table was full, and as Inuyasha turned his head to look out the window, he realized that the parking lot was nearly full too. How he hadn't noticed before was beyond him; typically, he liked to avoid such situations where he might have to communicate with others.

He walked up to the counter, looking at the sign hanging above of options. There certainly weren't any pastries, but there was a special on the apple pie. Inuyasha licked his lips, desperate for anything. Pie was definitely a good choice.

He jumped when a woman was suddenly in front of him, leaning on the counter that separated them with a raised eyebrow. "See anything you like, hun?" She was older, with dark hair and a weathered face. The lines around her lips told him that she smoked – had been smoking probably for years – and her voice was rough as the question was asked.

"The apple pie," Inuyasha replied, hesitating. "A slice, uh, please."

The waitress stared at him some more, looking partly amused and partly curious as she slowly pushed herself from the counter. "Coming right up. Any coffee?"

Inuyasha would love a cup of coffee. Really, he would. "No, thanks," he murmured, averting his gaze back to the sign. He didn't have that much change to afford both and his stomach would riot violently if he didn't have some sort of sustenance in its system.

"Alright sugar, take a seat."

There were several bar stools lined at the counter, most of them worn and old, tearing at the ends with sponge coming out. Inuyasha didn't particularly care, grabbing the closest one to him and feeling his legs sigh in relief. He'd been running for days and nights, hardly stopping. Usually by now he'd have found a town to stay for a few nights, make some quick cash and then blow out just like the rest of them. So far nothing had been remotely appealing. Quite possibly, he was the pickiest wanderer there was.

He considered taking off his winter jacket, but after looking around the diner he decided against it. He was warming up already and leaving it on could make leaving the place easier. Inuyasha didn't like any sort of attention and shuffling around putting your jacket on and off certainly could gain that. A small town like this probably rarely had any visitors.

The pie was served in just a few minutes, the smell of it hitting his nose long before the waitress took it from the order row. He was nearly salivating by the time it got there. His golden eyes blinked like it would go away at any moment. Inuyasha hadn't realized just how hungry he was until the food was right in his face.

"You alright there?" the waitress asked, eyebrow still raised like his presence made it impossible to lower them. "You sure you don't want any coffee?"

"No," Inuyasha replied, not even bothering with pleasantries as he grabbed the fork and started to dig in.

He wasn't even sure if the pie had been the best he'd ever tasted – right then it didn't matter. It was on the right side of warm, pastry flaky and hinting at cinnamon. He tried to make it last, tried to make every mouthful a long, savouring process.

"Excuse me? Hello, excuse me?" a female voice interrupted Inuyasha's thoughts, making him freeze and stare down at his plate. It couldn't be, but the fact that he could remember this – this _voice_ – made it more than likely, however unlikely the whole situation was. "Do you know where the owner for the gas station is? I need some help."

Inuyasha couldn't look away from the last bite of his pie. It was impossible. There was no way. His mind had to be supplying it, mixing it all around because this voice couldn't possibly be the one of the woman in the bookstore. That woman was most likely dead, as sick as she had been then.

"Out, sugar," his waitress replied, leaning forwards on the counter. He could see the older woman in his peripherals. "Why, you need to pay inside? I think I can get–"

"No," the female voice interrupted. "No, I actually ran out of gas. I have a container that I filled up, paid for and everything, but…"

He had to. He couldn't wait any longer. Inuyasha lifted his head, immediately turning to face the woman with the voice he remembered from so long ago. Inuyasha nearly choked when he realized that yes, indeed it was the woman from the bookstore. She looked the same, but far healthier. Her cheeks were rosy, lips full and red. Her skin was still pale but not that ghostly shade from before. Unless…maybe she had a twin?

"…But I can't carry it back now," the woman from the bookstore sighed, looking rather embarrassed. "I hadn't thought about it and my car is at least three miles away from here. I was wondering if someone would be able to take me back."

The waitress winced a little, sparing a quick glance behind her. "I can see if any of them in the back will. It might take a few minutes for them to end the shift though."

"I can help." The words were out of his mouth before he even knew it. The waitress turned to look at him first, confused. It wasn't her response he was looking for though, merely the woman from the bookstore, whose big brown eyes landed on him and widened.

"You're…Inuyasha?"

The fact that she remembered his name was something entirely incredible, possibly even a little scary. The chances of meeting again, in a town so far away from where they originally met was slim enough, but the fact that he remembered her voice and she remembered his name… Inuyasha chose not to think about it, merely giving her a nod and a half-smile. "Hi."

"It's Kagome," the woman said, holding out her hand for him to shake. "We met – what was it? – two years ago?"

"Something like that," Inuyasha replied. He hesitated before taking her tiny hand in his, noticing that the shakes were gone. She was definitely healthy, but how she had gotten from one state to this one was a mystery. Kagome must have been treated, or gotten better, in some way during the long months he hadn't seen her face. He wanted to say that, to say something about how much better she looked, _healthier_. Of course, Kagome was just the random woman he had met twice now. There was no need for comments like that. "You need help with the gas can, right?"

Kagome's cheeks reddened a little, eyes looking back at the counter. "Well, yes I do. I filled it up and I can barely lift it anyways, but now–" Abruptly she cut herself off, shrugging. "I'm not exactly superwoman in the strength department."

"Sure, just let me pay," Inuyasha said, seeing the waitress raise yet another brow before sauntering off to presumably get his bill. With the other woman gone, he and Kagome stood there, a bit awkward and unsure of what to say. It's not like he knew her at all.

"So what are you doing all the way out here?" Kagome asked, quietly at first. His ears picked up the sounds though, swivelling around to face her. She looked at them for a moment, a small smile picking up on her face. "Although, I'm not even sure where here is."

Inuyasha didn't have a clue either. "I was hungry and had to stop for a bit. It's cold out there too." There was another silence as he finished his sentence, realizing far too late that he should've reciprocated the question. He didn't talk to people a lot.

Or ever, really.

"What about–"

"So how've you–"

The both of them stopped abruptly, looking at the other. Kagome was the first to laugh, turning away shyly. "You go first."

"I was going to ask what you were doing out here. It is in the middle of nowhere," Inuyasha replied, watching as the waitress started to make her way back to them. The woman said nothing, merely placing down the bill and giving a smile between the two of them. Inuyasha thought it was a bit strange, but humans in general acted strange. Demons weren't any better.

"I'm visiting someone…a friend, I guess," Kagome murmured. Inuyasha looked up just in time to see her curl her lower lip over her teeth, biting at the soft flesh in nervousness. Why she felt that way was beyond him.

"How can you only guess if that someone's a friend?" Inuyasha asked, putting down the last of his money.

Kagome gave a shrug, her smile turning a little more secretive as she backed up to let him stand. "I'm still undecided if they are or not."

 _They_? Inuyasha wondered what she was talking about, because wouldn't _a friend_ , being a singular phrase, indicate that Kagome should say either _he is_ or _she is_? Instead of asking he nodded his head towards the outside. "Just tell me where it is and then direct me to your car."

The black-haired woman stared at him for a moment in confusion before her eyes widened, looking around the snow-covered lot. "Oh, right, it's beside the pumps. Which truck is yours?"

"I, uh, don't have one," Inuyasha responded, realizing only then that it may get a little weird. "I'm fast and strong, and…" He slowly pointed to the dog ears on the top of his head. _Demon_. Well, half-demon actually. Being a demon, however, didn't mean someone was fast.

"So you can carry that all the way back to my car? It's three miles away and… _How_ did you get here?" Kagome looked even more confused now, tugging on her winter jacket so that it wrapped tighter around her. "Don't tell me you just _run_ everywhere."

Inuyasha blinked. Well, what was he supposed to tell her then?

"Oh my goodness, that's insane," Kagome murmured, her big brown eyes incredulous. "I couldn't even walk with that container a few feet. How are you supposed to walk with it all the way back?"

He wanted to point at his ears again, because maybe she didn't understand it the first time. Inuyasha stopped himself though, unsure with what to say. He wondered if he could even say anything that would get through to her. "First of all, if you don't mind it'd be faster to run–"

"I'm in heels in the snow," Kagome interrupted. "I can't run."

The half-demon balked. Conversation was a pain in the ass; he didn't know how people did it so regularly. "But…I'd carry you."

"And the gas?" From the look on her face, she didn't believe him.

"Have you met a demon before?"

Kagome seemed to stop at that, tilting her head to look at him. "You're going to carry me and the gas like some sort of…deranged white knight?" The second the words were out of her mouth her big, brown eyes widened, looking horrified. She slapped her hands over her lips, taking a step back. "I can't believe I just said that. I'm so sorry!"

Inuyasha watched the whole episode with a look of surprise. The different emotions that flit across her face were like reading a book. There was so much she showed, so much that moved too fast for him to get a complete read on. Filling in those stories would be something he was almost disappointed to know he'd never be able to do. "Okay." Bending down, he grabbed the gas can and then bent his knees slightly.

"Do I…?" Kagome sounded unsure and a little sheepish, as if she didn't want to offend him anymore.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to bite."

Slowly the woman got on, wrapping her arms around him. Her lips were near his ear, the warm puff of breath tickling the side of his face. "I barely even know you. I can't believe I'm doing this."

Letting out a chuckle, Inuyasha wrapped his free arm underneath her and took off at a slow jog. He would've gone faster if he'd been able to actually hold her. Humans were naturally weak, and considering not too long ago she'd been…well, whatever she had been…Inuyasha didn't want the wind to whip her off.

"So why are you here?" Kagome asked, a little too loud but the half-demon figured she wasn't particularly aware of his above-average hearing. "You said it yourself that this is the middle of nowhere."

"Passing by," he replied, being intentionally vague. A part of him was disappointed that he didn't – wouldn't – share more. "I travel a lot." He doubted that information really did any good. It was cold out but the wind wasn't nearly so bad. It allowed for conversation, even at the jogging pace he moved at. "So…" Unfortunately, it would be helpful if he had anything to say. Inuyasha wasn't good at conversation, never had been.

"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Kagome asked suddenly. It seemed that she had the tendency to ask questions that some may find a bit forward. She was lucky Inuyasha didn't exactly know what those forward questions might be.

"Twenty-five," he responded. He didn't mention that he was fully-grown at the age of ten, far more mature than the average human with the demon blood in his veins. "What about you?"

Kagome was quiet for a moment. "Only twenty."

That meant that when he first laid eyes on her, she was likely only eighteen. That was young to have looked so sick. He struggled to not ask, trying to keep his golden eyes focused on the road. "Do you have much further to go?"

"Not really, maybe a half-hour." Kagome bit out nervous laughter. "To be honest, I'm not sure what's going to happen when I get there. I've never met this person before and… Well, they're important to me."

Inuyasha felt like he was getting a whole bunch of information in tiny puzzle pieces. "How can someone like that be so important, if you've never met them before?"

"How much you care for a person shouldn't be measured by the amount of face-time you have with them," Kagome replied, her answer almost too loud for his ears. "No one's feelings should be bound by norms or rules of getting to know someone. I think…" She trailed off, laughing suddenly. "Oh god, that wasn't meant for you."

"You know, you're the most confusing person I've ever met."

"I'm sorry, it was…meant for someone else." Kagome sighed. Her arms unknowingly wrapped tighter around his neck. "I wasn't exactly supported to drive here."

"Parents?" Inuyasha asked. He wouldn't really know. He'd never had that sort of influence since he was a child.

Kagome shook her head, and he could feel her nose nudge along his silver hair as she did it. "Boyfriend, or you know, ex-boyfriend."

Inuyasha could see the car in the distance, pulled over to the side of the road with the four-ways on. He slowed down, tightening his grip around the small woman as he continued forward. Just because he could see the destination didn't mean he wanted this to… Well, whatever. "You broke up with him over a drive?"

"No, not exactly," Kagome answered, sighing yet again. "It's never that simple, is it?"

Again, Inuyasha wouldn't know.

When they got to the car, Inuyasha bent down so that Kagome could climb off. The gas can was put by the tank and he stood there rather awkwardly, waiting for some kind of instruction.

Kagome smiled at him, opening the car door and popping the gas cap. "You're a lifesaver for doing this. Thank you again."

"You're, uh, welcome," Inuyasha said, kicking his foot into the snow. Stupid snow, he hated the winter.

"Don't you think it was pretty random that we met again, especially today?" Kagome asked, sparing him a glance as she opened the gas can.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess? I haven't really thought about it."

The black-haired beauty hummed quietly. "I don't know. I don't really believe in chance, you know? I think there's more to life than that."

"So what, you believe in fate?" Inuyasha had truthfully never put that much thought into it before. He tended to believe what was right in front of him, what happened to him or what could happen to him. He didn't think of things that could be out of his control. The list would just get too long and Inuyasha didn't need anymore trouble than he already had.

"Maybe," Kagome murmured. "I guess I'm not too sure myself."

The half-demon wasn't sure where this conversation was heading, but he waited patiently for Kagome to pick up the gas can, clearly having the hardest time with it. She was quiet though, her brow furrowed with her efforts. It was almost sad really. "Why don't…you let me?" he offered, putting a hand under the gas can and steadying it so that the tank could start to fill.

The raven-haired woman blushed, sighing exasperatedly. "Thanks," she mumbled.

Inuyasha found it strange how with some things she was distinctly blunt and unafraid while in other cases she was shy and embarrassed. The two didn't mix, not as well as he thought they should. There was so much more to this woman than he would ever know. Inuyasha tried not to think about it, slowly letting the gas empty out.

Kagome stood at the side, watching. "Why did you come and talk to me at the bookstore last year?" There it was, again with the candidness. She made no sense at all.

"I was cold and the bookstore looked warm," Inuyasha responded quietly.

"That's not what I asked."

Looking up at her with daring golden eyes, he levelled out his gaze. "You were sick, right? With what?"

Kagome's lips pinched. "That's a whole other level."

He shrugged. The hell if he knew. "I don't talk to others much."

"Exactly my point," Kagome pressed. "What made you talk to me?"

The gas can was empty. He didn't need to answer her questions. He didn't owe her anything – it was actually the other way around. Instead, the words that come out of his mouth were almost like a betrayal. "I don't know."

She didn't seem satisfied, not by a long shot. "You don't know?"

"I don't know." He set the gas can down, finished now with everything she needed. "Is there anything else?"

The woman seemed to see it, the way he almost shut down. Kagome took a step back, crossing her arms protectively over herself. "No, no, you really helped. Thank you."

Inuyasha nodded, giving her a small smirk. "I hope you and your friend have fun, or whatever." He shrugged, knowing eloquent speech wasn't a strong suit of his. "Get more gas as soon as you can."

"I will."

He took a step back, giving a small wave. For some reason he held back, not breaking off into a sprint the moment he could. It was strange, weird – he'd never felt the sensation to hesitate before, to hold on out and see what could possibly be around the corner.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome sounded breathless, like something was bothering her. He stopped, turned back around to see her taking the six steps in between them that brought them once again closer. "I…Thank you," she finished, eyes turning down towards the snow. "I don't know where you're going but– be safe."

"Half-demon, remember?" he asked, only because she seriously seemed to lack any idea of them whatsoever. Just because demons were a rare creature in these times didn't make them invisible. "I'll be fine."

"I know." Kagome smiled then, small and insecure. "Maybe… Maybe I'll see you again. We've already met twice, right?"

The idea of it was oddly exhilarating for all that it was impossible. Twice was already pushing the limits of possibility. Three times was surely too much, even for fate to handle.

"Yeah, maybe." When he took several steps back, he didn't stop. He didn't turn around to see her face one more time. He didn't let whatever feelings infiltrating his head affect him. He lived on the road, by the road. Nothing had made him stop, nothing.

And today was yet another day that the road would be his only friend.

* * *

The date was Thursday, October 31st 2013 when his entire world shifted.

The city was called Mulberry – and what the hell kind of name was that? – and he'd been there for the better part of three weeks. It had been too long, Inuyasha knew, but the money was good and he needed some sort of security before he headed out. He worked at a bar, acting as a mix of security, bartender, janitor and bus boy. There was no job description when you were paid purely in cash, and the reason he suspected he got the job so readily in the first place was because of the upcoming holiday.

Halloween was never something Inuyasha found particularly fascinating. People dressed up, people got drunk, people had sex, and the next day was nothing more than a walk of shame and enough Advil to send most into a coma. It was probably why they wanted him to do a _little security_ , to make sure nothing went horribly wrong, horribly fast.

It was already one in the morning. Inuyasha knew from the beginning that the bar was a popular place – it was always full up until close and the tips were never something to laugh at. With the decorations and the televisions showing music videos while music blasted through, it was all-in-all pretty great. Even he didn't mind it so much. Women were coming up to him, asking him strange and personal questions like when he got off work and if he could help them with their costume. He wasn't sure what was so hard about their costume – there didn't seem to be much of it to fix.

Or maybe that was the problem. Of course, he'd probably never be sure.

Inuyasha figured he'd deal with it though if it meant all of the tips he was making. He helped at the bar while making routine checks around the place. So far the crowd had been solid, a bunch of young adults having a good time. The crowd usually wasn't too young, so the chances of them holding their liquor were at least a small percentage higher.

"Yo, Inuyasha, can you get me more ice?" Sango asked, barely giving him a glance before popping her boobs in another man's direction for tips. She made good ones, he'd give her that. The Catwoman costume certainly helped.

He didn't need to confirm – Sango trusted him enough. She was one of the few people he found extremely tolerable. She had a nice laugh and knew how to throw a punch. One guy had grabbed her ass so hard she squeaked, but before Inuyasha could throw the guy out, she rammed her fist so hard up his nose it was broken and bleeding within seconds.

"SEXUAL HARASSMENT!" she screamed. "He wouldn't take no for an answer!"

No one questioned her. The guy even thanked Inuyasha when he got him a cab to take to the hospital.

The freezer was in the back, down a narrow hall that surrounded the main kitchen. The cooks were singing some sort of death metal, clearly entertaining themselves regardless of their costume-less state. When Inuyasha grabbed the two extra buckets and filled them with ice, he barely spared a second to check the time on his way out. One-thirteen, and they were going to be open until at least two. Well the bar would be open, but those who were partying inside wouldn't be asked to leave until four. It was going to be a hell of a night.

Women cooed around him as he lifted the buckets in the air to not hit their heads. Why they were making the stupid noise was beyond him. His ass was touched along the way, but that happened every so often here. So far, he hadn't had the urge to punch any of them like Sango had.

"Thank god you're back," the woman said, smiling wide at him. Her magenta eyes were like nothing else he'd ever seen, and Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk right back at her.

"You're so lucky I'm here."

Sango laughed. "I would've _killed_ Miroku if he told you no." Miroku was the bar owner, and Sango's occasional fuck buddy. They were in love – it was so obvious even he could see it – but the truth hadn't come out yet. He was almost disappointed to know he'd probably be gone before they'd own up to the feelings. They kind of grew on him in the past few weeks. "Hey, can you do me a favour?"

Inuyasha nodded at her, dumping the new contents of ice in the metal slot and stacking the old ones underneath.

"Can you serve the group on the left side? They've been waiting a while but Kirara still is having sex with that guy in the bathroom and I really can't hold down the fort for much longer. If you have a drink order question, just let me know."

"Fine," he replied, turning around and grabbing a rag on the way. The bar top was covered with water, alcohol and other messes he didn't want to think about. He wiped along as he went, heading over to the group Sango had gestured towards. "How can I help you?"

"Inuyasha?"

That voice. That goddamn voice.

Inuyasha snapped his head up so fast, he could hear the click of bones. Kagome was standing there, looking rather obscene in her superhero costume. He couldn't tell which superhero it was, but it was tight, and yellow and black, and–

"This is…" She trailed off, looking almost shocked. He understood the feeling; it had been ten months since he last saw her on that snowy road.

"Kagome, drinks!" a male yelled from behind her. It didn't take long for the guy to appear – a cartoon character or something – and place a big kiss on her cheek. "What's taking you so long?"

Inuyasha blinked, shaking himself out of it and out of the…the… Was it _jealousy_? There was something snaking in his gut, a bit too ugly for his liking, but Inuyasha was never one to understand all of the feelings normal humans associated with. Not only was he always alone, but the demon blood in his veins made things different. He didn't know how – didn't know the techno-psycho-babble to straighten it all out – but this hadn't happened before.

Only around her, it sort of seemed to appear.

"What can I get you?" he asked again, realizing that Kagome was suddenly looking anywhere but at him, her arms crossing over her front. If she expected the cleavage to go away, well, she wasn't doing too good of a job.

The guy ran a list of drinks, all of them simple. Inuyasha had no problems, simply racking the order up and automatically giving the total cost. The guy handed over the money, a wide, drunken grin on his face. "Keep the change man, thanks!"

Inuyasha nodded, taking it and watching as the man left. Kagome stayed where she was though, her drink still on the counter.

"Inuyasha!" Sango called, and he snapped his attention towards the other bartender. "Can you get me more lemons from the back?"

"Yeah." He turned his head to look at Kagome, but she was gone. Her drink was too.

Inuyasha knew quite well that the word 'strange' only seemed to appear in his vocabulary when Kagome appeared into his life, but it was the only way to explain it. Three times? Really? It was absurd. It was strictly not possible.

But it was. It had happened.

Yet, she disappeared.

The lemons had been pre-sliced that morning, kept in the fridge and carefully wrapped. He grabbed a large container of them, sliding back out to the front and automatically scanning the crowd. His resolutely ignored the sight of black and yellow, and ignored the fact that Kagome was indeed still there.

When he got back to the bar, Sango, Miroku and Kirara were all manning stations. He placed the lemons in their spot, tossing the container in another one to wash later after close. The nudge he received was fast, jolting him upright. Miroku stood there, a raised brow in his direction. "Sango tells me there was a chick and there was _tension of the sexual variety_."

"Oh god," Inuyasha groaned. "Sango!"

The damn Catwoman ignored him. She was too busy thrusting her boobs everywhere.

"I'm here now and you've restocked everything so…why don't you go find her?" Miroku nudged Inuyasha again, as if he was trying to be subtle. He wasn't. Not by a long shot. "Take fifteen, or if you want to try it Kirara's way, take twenty."

"Hey!" Kirara yelled, sounding far too sheepish to be indignant. That's what you got for sex in the bathroom on Halloween. Inuyasha still stood by what he said earlier.

"I don't think–" It was useless. Miroku was nudging him again, and every time he tried to get near the counter to help, Sango would do that thrusting thing with her boobs again – or sometimes even her gigantic ass – and force him out. "Alright!" he shouted, giving in and taking the very loud hint.

"Finally!" Miroku exclaimed. "I was worried he didn't do sex."

"You would be," Inuyasha grumbled. It didn't matter whether his quasi-boss heard or not, the half-demon was already headed out into the middle of the room where he last saw Kagome. She wasn't at the table though, not the one he had originally spotted her at. The black and yellow wasn't hard to miss though, and in seconds he found her grinding on the dance floor with friends. Well, he assumed they were friends.

The problem was that he had never really done this – any of this – before. The longest conversation he'd ever had with a woman was the one paramedic he talked to after he had been hit by a car after he first ran away. He'd been young and stupid, not watching the road. The paramedic gave him a pretty long lecture for that one. His side of the conversation consisted mostly of _yes ma'ams_ and _never again_.

How was he supposed to bring up a conversation with this…this woman? They'd met three times randomly in the course of three years. It was strange – there was that word again – and nothing could help the situation. This was probably all a bad idea. If he hid in the back for a while, he could reappear at the bar in ten and Miroku would've never known the difference.

It didn't matter though, because suddenly Kagome's big brown eyes were on him, catching his gaze around the crowd of people that seemed to grow bigger with each passing beat of the bass. He took a step forward, elbowing some guy that tried to intrude too much in his personal space. Kagome stopped her dancing, started to move over to him. The second he was in front her was something big – something unnameable – and he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the back.

"What are you–?"

"Hold on," he murmured, bee-lining down the hall towards the back exit. It was quiet there, no partiers or drunken video game characters dancing about. The air was crisp, cool for the fall. Inuyasha let his eyes close momentarily, his ears thanking him for the small, luxurious break. When he opened his eyes, Kagome was still standing there, looking for all the world lost and insecure. Her eyes were to the ground, constantly shifting upwards like she couldn't help it before falling back down again.

"Hi," he started, turning towards her. It was only then he realized out back may have been a mistake. Outside was refreshing but it was still cold, and her costume wasn't exactly made for keeping warm, not with all of the showing skin.

"Hi," Kagome said, finally looking up and holding his gaze. Her smile was genuine, small but there. Her cheeks were rosy from inside's heat, and Inuyasha felt something else curl inside his stomach – not ugly, just…something. "I can't believe it's you," she added, looking embarrassed. "And tonight of all nights."

Inuyasha didn't understand. "What's wrong with tonight?"

"This–" Kagome gestured up and down her body, eyes focusing somewhere between his chest. "I can't believe you're seeing me like… _this_."

Oh. She was embarrassed by it. It made more sense, especially what happened first at the bar when she had been so shell-shocked. Because she mentioned it, Inuyasha let his eyes look up and down her body, shrugging soon after. "I don't see anything wrong. At least you haven't asked me to fix your costume somehow. I'm not sure why girls wear something that doesn't fit right if they're just going to complain about it–"

Kagome burst out laughing, and Inuyasha was startled enough to stop. The brown-eyed woman leaned against the brick of the building, hands on her stomach as if to hold in the laughter. "You can't be serious."

"There's been like…twelve offers so far," Inuyasha stated, not seeing the humour.

"Have you ever been to a Halloween party before?"

The half-demon couldn't exactly say that he had. Last Halloween he was in a small town, working a mechanic gig, if he remembered right. "No, not really."

Kagome seemed to sober up at that, tilting her head curiously. "No? How come?"

"I just haven't." Inuyasha fidgeted under the scrutiny of her gaze. "So why are you here, in this city? What brought you here as of right now?"

"School," Kagome said, smiling. "I go to the university the city over. My friends thought it would be a lot more fun to get a hotel room and party outside of our usual spots. It's been great so far. What about you?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Travel?" It was the only excuse he had. He stopped when he had to and moved when he could no longer stand still.

The black-haired woman seemed to get that he wasn't sharing, at least not all of it right now. She gave him a small smile, a knowing one that made his body thrum with energy. "So you work here?"

"Yeah, for a little while," he explained. "Sango and Miroku are really great. They're the first people I've met in a while that I find…interesting." He grinned at the last bit, looking down at her. "Planning on staying awhile?"

"This is our third bar, so most of them are pretty smashed," Kagome replied, smiling herself. "I'm pretty sure we'll be here until someone passes out."

The information wasn't particularly useful, but Inuyasha took it for what it was. She was going to be there as long as she could. For some reason, he wanted it to last.

"Do you have to–?" Kagome trailed off a bit, waving towards the inside.

He got what she was saying, wincing a little. "Yeah, I'm not technically supposed to have any breaks tonight."

"Oh, and what made you get this one then?" Kagome asked, raising a brow.

"You." It was true, nothing big or fancy. He was just answering her question, but for some reason it made Kagome stare at him funny, like she was trying to analyze something hiding in him. "What?" he asked finally. "Did I do something?"

Hesitating for only a moment, Kagome slowly shook her head and smiled. "No, you didn't. Come on, I don't want to get you in trouble."

He led her back inside, once again following the hall back to the loud and busy bar when a small hand encircled his wrist, making him stop. Inuyasha turned around, looking down at the beautiful woman curiously. "Is something the matter?"

"No, I just… You don't have a cell phone, do you?" Kagome asked.

"Do I look like I have a cell phone?" He didn't, never had one because who was going to call him?

"I didn't think so." The black-haired beauty looked a bit put-upon, like there was some task he was preventing her from completing. "Do you have a napkin?" The relationship between the two objects was completely unknown to him, but Inuyasha went and got one anyways. His puzzled look got him a small laugh out of Kagome, who took it gratefully. "A pen?"

"You couldn't have asked for that before?" Inuyasha sighed, heading into the office just around the corner to grab one. He wasn't sure what time it was, but surely Miroku was going to be looking for him at any moment. "What are you doing?" he asked when he got back, handing Kagome the item and watching as she started to scribble on the napkin.

Kagome didn't answer, not at first while she was busy at her task. It wasn't until she handed both the pen and napkin back to him that she grinned. "I told you I'm staying overnight at a hotel right? Well I'll be here tomorrow and if you want… Well, I'd like to see you – this time not because of crazy random chance meetings." Her smile was still there, but the blush on her cheeks was clear.

Inuyasha wanted to blame it on the cold or the heat, but neither of them seemed to fit. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

It was one word. One word that made fuzzy things grow inside him, all tangled up in a mess that he couldn't figure out – not right now, at least. "Okay then. Sure, tomorrow– I can see you tomorrow."

"Great!" The genuine expression on her face was shockingly beautiful, and Inuyasha had never felt such a compulsion to touch to before, to reach out and seek the silkiness of her skin on his fingertips. "You can come over whenever. The address of the hotel is on the napkin. Uh…my friends and I are sharing a room but I promise we will run away before any major damage can be done."

"Alright." He gazed down at the white napkin, seeing the blue ink with Kagome's handwriting dancing across it. Before he knew it, Kagome was close. Her lips brushed lightly on his cheek, making him freeze to the spot. By the time he had thawed out, Kagome was already long gone out of the kitchen.

Inuyasha looked once more down at the address, wondering if this was really happening. Could fate really do this to two people? And honestly, why them?

"HEY, you're taking _longer_ than Kirara and she got laid!" Miroku yelled from somewhere behind him.

Tucking the napkin into his jean pocket, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and went back to the bar.

Even if he didn't see Kagome again right before she left, there was still that promise of tomorrow. It was more than Inuyasha had ever had.

* * *

The date was Friday, November 1st 2013 when he and Kagome met for the first time by their own choice.

For November it was warm, scarves tosses aside by many who simply wore sweaters. Some leaves were still clinging, their bright autumn colours dancing as a rare breeze caught them. The streets weren't busy – not yet – but it was a weekend and the rush was bound to happen sooner or later. He'd actually been in this city long enough to know that.

Inuyasha waited for the feeling to hit him – the feeling that he had to move on, couldn't stay in one spot. He'd already been in the city for three weeks, surely it was due anytime. And yet, as the half-demon stood there and gazed at the tall hotel building before him, he couldn't get a grasp on it.

It was yet another strange thing that had occurred in his life.

Inuyasha figured he'd get the itch eventually. Miroku and Sango were simply the kindest strangers he'd ever met, and they had welcomed him in a way he'd never experienced before. That was probably it.

Probably.

Inuyasha knew the hotel Kagome had written on the napkin. All she had given him was a name and the intersection, but it was only a block away. Again, he'd been here long enough to know where it was. He opened the front doors slowly, stepping inside and heading straight to the elevators. There was a rush of individuals at the counter keeping the staff busy, and he was grateful for when the elevator doors opened.

Kagome's room was on the sixth floor. Her room number, a little neater than the rest of her writing on the napkin, showed _603_. It was pretty much now or never, and Inuyasha clamped his mouth shut as the doors closed and the elevator started to move. The ascent was quick and painless but Inuyasha still hesitated when it opened up just for him, the rest of the patrons waiting. Room 603 was almost directly across from the elevator, and he could hear the distinct sound of water running in the room, girls talking and the television playing softly in the background. For the first time ever, Inuyasha wished he owned a cell phone because he could've just called her to tell her he was waiting in the lobby.

Knocking on the door was almost too loud. The room suddenly went silent, save for the water running in the bathroom. Inuyasha silently prayed it wasn't Kagome in the shower, and that he hadn't come too early. It was noon, and maybe for individuals who had been drunk the night before that _was_ too early. He didn't know though, he didn't drink.

The door swung open with a startling speed, making him instantly look down to see Kagome's smiling face among a sea of…women. There was even a man in there. Wasn't there a limit or something to people in rooms?

"Bye everyone," she yelled, stepping out and rolling her eyes at her friends. The door hadn't shut fast enough. "Sorry about their staring," she said, gazing up at him. "They're just enthralled."

"Enthralled?" What kind of a word was that? Inuyasha raised a brow, walking back towards the elevators. He could distinctly hear giggling back in the room and hushed questions about him. He tried to ignore the sounds, but the hall was quiet as they waited. "You know they're going to come out, right?"

Kagome frowned at him. "No, I told them not to."

"Well, they are currently planning the best way to separate us for a chat." Inuyasha grimaced. One of the options wasn't exactly… _normal_. "I think we should take the stairs."

"You can–" Kagome stopped herself, looking up at the fuzzy ears at the top of his head. Her mouth opened to speak, but before anything could come out, the click on the hotel door's handle went.

Inuyasha didn't know much about women and their need to talk – he didn't talk to anyone who knew much about it – but the look of horror on Kagome's face was enough to have him picking her up, her knees and upper back wrapped securely in his arms as he took off towards the stairs located a few feet away. They were in the stairwell before the door had even been fully opened and he grinned to himself. Not bad.

"Holy crap," Kagome gasped.

Looking down in his arms, he realized that he hadn't exactly told Kagome the plan. Not that there had been enough time to do so, but the woman looked startled and a little dazed. "Hey, you okay?"

The raven-haired beauty looked around. "We're in the stairwell?" The question didn't need an answer given, he could tell that much as she turned her big brown eyes towards his face. "Holy crap you're fast. And you don't have to say it, I know it's because you're a demon. Either way, you're fast."

She had mentioned that already. "Do you want me to…?" He lowered his arms slightly, trying to get the point across that he would put her down if she wanted.

"How many flights do we have to go down?" Kagome smiled innocently up at him, batting her eyelashes. "I'd bet we'd get there a lot faster if you just…" She made a whooshing gesture with her hand, laughing quietly.

"If you're sure." Inuyasha waited for all of three seconds before he jumped, right in the middle of the staircase and plummeting down.

" _Oh my god_!" The shriek was deafening to his ears. Arms were locked around his neck, so tight that he had to bend down a little. The landing was still smooth however, and the screaming went on for a second too long as Kagome finally figured out they were safe.

"You're loud," Inuyasha pointed out, his ears twitching on top of his head. He never really noticed them until someone started hurting them.

Smacking him in the shoulder, Kagome glared at him. "That was terrifying! I thought you were just going to run down really fast!"

"Where's the fun in that?"

Kagome's indignant squeak was enough to have him chuckle, putting her down before she caused herself some harm. After a moment, she shook her head at him and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's get out of here."

She made it sound like there was a destination in mind, although he wasn't sure what it was. As it were, Inuyasha followed the raven-haired beauty, letting her lead them outside and onto the sidewalk. It was a bit busier now, with crowds of people going by. The city wasn't a massive tourist destination, but there were a few casinos that helped bring in a significant portion of the city's revenue. Business was business, and Inuyasha still would never understand it.

"It's gorgeous out today," Kagome said suddenly, breaking through his thoughts. There was a small smile on her face as she looked ahead. "I'm not exactly a fan of the winter but you probably remember that."

Inuyasha nodded, trying to keep close to her until he realized that Kagome had never let go of his hand. He stared at it for a moment, confused.

"Oh, sorry." Kagome's hand was instantly gone and he blinked, wondering what had just happened. He glanced up at the woman, seeing her a bit red in the face and glaring at her hand like it had a mind of its own.

"No, it's fine," he replied, hesitating for a moment before slowly reaching out to take it once more. Inuyasha had never been one to know the rules of when to start doing something during a date. He'd never even been on a date before. There'd been a few women, but most of them were one night things that didn't last any longer than the need did. When his fingers laced around hers, he noticed the way that Kagome turned her head away, but the corners of her lips were tilted upwards, smiling. Women were weird. "Where are we headed to?"

"Hmm?" Kagome shrugged. "I thought we'd just…walk. Talk and maybe search around a bit? I'm rarely in this city, but you've been here a while, haven't you?"

Inuyasha nodded, although 'a while' in Kagome's book was probably a significant difference than his version of it. Three weeks was almost _too long_. "I think… We should go this way." He tugged her arm a bit, stopping her so that they could cross the road and head in another direction. "There's a place here, it's not that bad," he said quietly, wondering why he was bringing her there at all. It wasn't exactly nice, or remotely special.

Not that what they were doing called for anything nice or special. Or did it?

When they were back on their way, Kagome nudged his shoulder a little, grinning. "So since we keep meeting randomly, I'm taking this as a sign."

"A sign?" Inuyasha questioned, white ears focusing on her voice. "What kind of sign?"

The woman seemed a bit taken aback by that, but continued on anyways. "People don't just meet Inuyasha, especially when they are complete strangers and the locations are always different. We don't go to the same school, I'm pretty sure you didn't know anyone in that tiny town I was driving to last time we met, and I'm positive you weren't at the same hospital I was at when I first saw you. Unless, I'm wrong?"

"No, not wrong," Inuyasha answered. "But it's only three times."

"There are almost seven billion people on this planet Inuyasha," Kagome stated. "Think about all the choices we've made that brought us together. When I was sick, I had three choices as to which hospital I wanted to go to. From there, I had multiple things to do on that day. When I chose to get new books, there were at least four bookstores in the area I could've gone to. It just so happened that all of it added up to that particular bookstore at that particular time and you happened to be there. Think of all the choices _you_ had to make to be there." She kicked a rock that was on the sidewalk, watching it bounce for a moment until it landed on the road. "Then at the gas station. Of all the days I was going to go visit that girl, I picked that one. Of all the gas stations I passed on the way, I chose to not pick any. Of all the roads I could take, I was on that one. Of all the places my car could've stopped, it was there. I haven't even gotten to the part where I found you and the list is already close to endless. The probability of this happening is so small it's practically non-existent."

"I get your point," Inuyasha conceded, shaking his head at her. "You like to talk I think."

"You don't, I think," Kagome shot back, looking at him incredulously. "You didn't believe me, so I had to make a point!"

"Okay, _okay_ ," Inuyasha laughed, trying to escape her without actually letting go of her hand. It was harder than he thought it would be. "Can I ask you something?"

"You know I like to talk, so the answer is probably yes," Kagome replied, narrowing her gaze at him.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "This might be…obtrusive, I don't know. I don't really… What were you sick with, when you were in the hospital?"

Biting her lip Kagome paused, her hand tightening around his when he tried to pull away. "You don't have to worry. I was diagnosed with stage two non-Hodgkin's lymphoma just before I turned eighteen. There was a much longer word they used to describe it but I honestly don't…try to remember. It was the biggest shock of my life, and the most terrifying. I stopped going to school and focused on treatment. I was still in the early stages, but I had aggressive lymphoma so the cancer would spread faster and…" Kagome shrugged. "When you saw me at the bookstore, I was still recovering. I had undergone chemotherapy and given a stem cell transplant. My hair was finally filling in again, and growing. I was a mess though, always tired even afterwards. It took me a while to get back into things fully."

Inuyasha didn't know what to say for a few minutes, processing her words. Cancer at the age of eighteen, it blew his mind. He knew there were small children that suffered, he knew others had it and it was bad no matter what age, but he'd never actually _known_ a person to have had it. He'd never seen the results in front of his face. "Is it gone now?"

"Yeah, it's…gone, but there's a lot I have to do to make sure I stay healthy," Kagome replied, sounding almost relieved by his question. "I have to visit the specialist a lot, although the number of visits shrinks every year. I don't drink much, if at all. I don't like losing control of my body, you know?"

"I can get that." Inuyasha tugged on her arm again, leading her over to a large fountain in the middle of a square. There were office buildings all around, people bustling about with briefcases in hand. He led her over to a bench that circled the fountain, sitting down. "Was the person you were meeting last year have something to do with it?"

"They were the match for the stem cells," Kagome answered, giving him a small smile. "I had never met the person and I wanted to thank them. It was a while before my strength was great enough I felt confident on my own but…I'm glad I did it."

"Your boyfriend was mad that you went to see them?" Inuyasha frowned. He had sworn that had been the case, although he could remember his facts wrong.

"He thought I should just take care of myself, not worry about other people." Kagome rolled her eyes at the memory. "Of course, if everyone did that then I wouldn't have had anyone match me and then the chemo might have done very serious damage to the few healthy cells I had. His argument didn't make sense to me and I wanted to do it. Besides," she shrugged, "it was the holidays."

Inuyasha smirked. "He sounds like an idiot."

"More or less." Kagome grinned. "What about you, any ex-girlfriends?"

"No, I'm never in one place long enough," Inuyasha said, shrugging. "It makes talking to people hard when you know you're not going to be around for anything."

"Then why do you move around so much?" Kagome asked, frowning. "Doesn't that get lonely or tiring?"

It wasn't an answer he had, even though Inuyasha felt it should be. He never thought of it that way before, never had a reason to feel that way. "I've been travelling my whole life," he said instead. "I don't know anything different."

Kagome seemed to hesitate, reaching out for his hand again like he might suddenly disappear. "How long have you been here then?"

"Three weeks," Inuyasha replied. "It's the longest I've ever been anywhere actually."

There was something like relief on her features, and he couldn't quite pinpoint why. Kagome steamrolled ahead though, stopping any further thoughts. "Where are you from, originally?"

Pretty soon he was caught up in a game of endless questions and answers, where he'd ask and she'd answer and then the opposite would be done. They didn't stop moving though. Inuyasha showed her around the city, bringing her to little places he had found on his downtime as they continued to get to know one another. It was smooth, and for the first time Inuyasha felt like he was doing something right. Kagome's laughter was beautiful, her smile even more so and there was something about her that made Inuyasha _want_ to ask more questions, _want_ to figure her out.

It started to make him itch, to escape it, but Inuyasha didn't want to leave Kagome. Not today.

When Kagome's phone went off and she swore softly, Inuyasha's ears perked up at the feminine voice on the other line. He could hear the conversation even if he wasn't trying, and the fact that Kagome had to go back to the room made him disappointed.

The itch worsened.

Kagome hung up, looking a bit nervous. "My friends are going to head back to school in the next hour so we should probably start to walk back, right?"

"Yeah, for sure," Inuyasha replied. He was trying to ignore what was sitting so heavy in his chest, what he couldn't explain. "Come on, I'll carry you."

Dinner was still a solid hour away and with it was the start of Inuyasha's shift. He had one tonight, one the following and then his schedule for the week was up. He worked with Miroku on a week-by-week basis because if Inuyasha wanted to leave, he left. It was safer to just plan for the short-term.

When Kagome climbed on his back, her arms wrapping tight around his neck, Inuyasha tried to ignore the feelings that were making his head hurt, the strange sensation that maybe fate had given all she had got. This could be goodbye.

Inuyasha ran.

Kagome didn't make a sound but her head was on his shoulder, obscuring her view of the world dashing by. He could feel her warm breath through the sweater, the way she flinched when he pushed off or came to a momentary halt. When they were back she didn't even move, not for a long while. Inuyasha stood there, arms loosely wrapped around her legs as he let her come to. Maybe he should've gone slower.

"Thank you." The words were soft, and Inuyasha let go as the woman climbed down. Her hand trailed along his arm, hesitating before falling off. She looked at the door. "It was great to finally get to actually talk to you," Kagome said, smiling slightly. "It's interesting to know the man behind random chance."

"I'm hardly interesting," Inuyasha replied, a little confused and a little more anxious. This whole situation was making him antsy, like he had to go _right now_. Like he couldn't say goodbye. And it was weird, and difficult, and Inuyasha didn't know how to process it.

Brown orbs stared at him incredulously. "You've travelled to so many places and seen so many things, it's amazing. I've never been able to do that and I'd like to. Not only that, but you're an interesting _person_."

He didn't believe it. The sentence alone was ridiculous, never mind the concept. Who said things like that? "Get back to school safe, yeah?" he asked, fidgeting with his hands. He was shuffling and it took him a great deal of effort to stop. He hoped that she didn't notice his anxiety.

Whether she did or not, Kagome grabbed his wrist and tugged gently, looking up at him. "I don't know where you're going to go but…you know where I am now, right? I think meeting three times randomly is about the limit, so maybe…" She paused, taking a deep breath. "Come visit me at school."

And right there, it suddenly got worse. The itching feeling that he always felt when something was getting too close, too familiar, came to him with a vengeance. It was time to go. He _had_ to go. "I don't know," he replied, opening his mouth to say more and then having silence come out. The expression on Kagome's face was suddenly altered – shuttered, closed down – and Inuyasha fumbled to talk, to explain. "I mean, this is the fourth time we've even seen each other and the first time we've talked. It's odd, don't you think?"

Kagome didn't react, merely looking up at him. "Your eyes are gold," she pointed out. "To me, that's odd. The fact that you travel and don't have a steady home, that's odd. _This_?" She gestured between the two of them. "It's odd. The thing is I just put it with everything else I categorized there. Life is odd, just look around."

"That's not–" Inuyasha stopped himself, because no, she was right. "I don't know where I'll be or when I'll be back."

"Okay."

"It might be weeks," he pressed.

Kagome crossed her arms. "We're not about to get married, we're just meeting for coffee or food to get to know each other. To make the _odd_ go away," she explained. He still couldn't read her expression, still couldn't tell what was going through her mind. "I don't know why you're suddenly freaking out."

How could he explain it to her? It was just a feeling, but it was what he trusted since he was a kid on his own. It was all he knew and all he believed in. He just- He had to- He _needed_ to leave. "I'm not," he stated, even though it was a lie. "Just, be safe okay?"

Inuyasha couldn't tell if she had suddenly just understood, or if maybe Kagome had finally lost control of whatever front she put on. He could see the hurt on her face, clear as day, as she nodded and headed back to her room.

"Bye Inuyasha, you be safe too." Kagome didn't look back at him, didn't say anything more. She slid her card key into the reader and opened the door.

When it shut, Inuyasha waited, trying to understand what it was that made him feel so messed up. Because even though Kagome was the one that just turned around and left, he was positive he was the one that truly walked away.

* * *

Miroku and Sango had known what was up the moment he got to work. He had been jittery, all over the place and forgetful. When Miroku came to ask him about it, Inuyasha just said that he was leaving and that unless they desperately needed him he wanted his next shift cancelled.

He couldn't believe the look on Sango and Miroku's faces when he told them, because it looked too much like disappointment and sadness, and it couldn't be. When he had finished his shift, Sango hugged him tight and Miroku laughed before hugging him too. Apparently, hugging could be manly as well if you added a heartfelt slap.

Now, Inuyasha was gone. The city was behind him and the only thing he knew was the cool breeze on his face as he ran. He kept going, faster and further forward, and didn't stop for a long time.

* * *

It took him a month to finally settle. He found a job doing makeshift construction, knew about the work because he'd done it in another small town however many years ago. Maybe it was months ago. Inuyasha didn't know.

The men were kind enough, but it was obvious they had their group. They had each other. Only two of the eight weren't married, and one of those two were single. It was strange, hearing things about a life that Inuyasha couldn't even conceive. And yet, every night he dreamed of what it would be like to be in that position, to have that stability. What drove him insane was that Kagome was always the woman, always his. It made him wake up in sweats, like a nightmare had invaded his mind.

He couldn't let it go. He couldn't not think about it.

But Inuyasha was already gone and he was pretty sure that if you asked the raven-haired beauty, she knew he was never coming back.

* * *

It had been three months and Inuyasha couldn't stay in one place longer than a week. It made it harder, because he had less money and had to stop more frequently. Every time made his skin crawl, like being there was horribly offensive or against his nature. Never had it been so difficult before.

Inuyasha didn't know what had happened to make his life so tiring. When he thought about it, nothing had changed. He had always stayed in one place for a bit, made some money and then left. He didn't stick around to make friends or do anything more than form an acquaintanceship with the odd stranger. Even in that city – _that city_ , with Miroku and Sango and _her_ – nothing had changed. It was a routine and he knew it well.

So why was he so anxious to keep moving?

* * *

Another place. Another job. Another month.

Inuyasha was dreaming; he knew he was. It didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her, from pulling her away from some store-front window with a roll of his eyes and a smile on her face. She pushed herself away from him, trying to walk down the street without being mauled by his strength or loomed over by his height.

The thing was that every time she let go of him, he'd get her right back. It was like he couldn't stand her not being there against him.

Kagome smiled when he tugged her against him, and she turned around to plaster her hands over his face, laughing. "You're such a big lug," she murmured, spreading apart her fingers so she could see his golden eyes. Inuyasha in turn narrowed them, making her laugh harder before stepping up on her tip toes. She gave a small kiss to the back of her hand, exactly where his lips would be had she not covered them. He mock-growled at her, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder as he started to run.

"Inuyasha!"

His eyes opened, wide and tired. He was boiling, his entire body on fire underneath the thick blankets. It was spring but cold, though not as cold as it would be where Kagome was. Inuyasha groaned and kicked off the covers.

He wasn't going back to sleep.

* * *

"So, I see this as going two ways. Way number one: you tell me your problem and I try to help you. Way number two: you don't tell me your problem and I'm going to bug the crap out of you."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, wiping down yet another bar top. "Shippo, you piss me off no matter what you do."

"Exactly," the redhead grinned, putting his chin in his hands as he stared up at the man. "So you might as well choose the lesser of two evils."

It was ridiculous how a seventeen year-old boy could be so smart. And annoying, you couldn't forget that. Still, the boy knew what he was talking about. He worked at the same restaurant, doing dish duty until he was old enough to either serve alcohol or do something else. He was always the opener, and the woman who had temporarily hired Inuyasha made him do all of the prep work before the night began. That, unfortunately, made them always have a solid two hours together.

"I don't want to talk about it." Inuyasha understood the fact that it probably sounded immature. Hell, he was constantly conversing with a teenager when he was twenty-seven – turning twenty-eight in a couple months. There had to be a quota somewhere, something that said they shouldn't be talking to one another.

Clearly, Shippo didn't care. "So, we're going with the hard way, are we? Well that sucks for you, but it's fun for me. Question one: have you been sleeping?"

He rolled his eyes – again – and bent down to attach the hoses for the drinks. "Yes."

"How much?"

"Enough."

Shippo hummed, a noise that made the half-demon stand back up and stare at him. The boy looked pleased. "So you're not getting a lot of sleep. I take it that a guy like you doesn't need much to begin with, so the fact that you answered 'enough' means that it's your minimum number of required hours. Interesting. Question two: are you having nightmares?"

"What am I, a child?" Inuyasha asked, throwing down the rag and leaning forward. He was greatly unsatisfied when the kid didn't even flinch. "No, no nightmares."

"Dreams, though?" Shippo pressed.

It was never going to end. "Holy shit, it's nothing, okay? Shippo, drop it."

"What am I, a dog?" the redhead asked, mimicking Inuyasha's voice from not too long ago when he asked a similar question. "I just worry about you."

"And I worry about _you_."

Shippo didn't look impressed with the response, his arms crossing on the counter. "You don't look like the kind of person to be scared of anything. You just wandered into town and I'm pretty sure you're soon going to wander out, am I right?"

Inuyasha didn't answer. It was pretty much as rhetorical as you could get.

"So nothing scares you, which means that wherever you're lodging isn't an issue. It could be a problem with your physical surroundings but this town is small and there's nothing here that's _that_ bad." Shippo ran a hand through his long mop of hair, scratching at the back as he processed. "So whatever is bothering you has to be personal, or has to come from you. You didn't answer my question about dreams so I bet you're having them – but they're not nightmares. Maybe sad dreams? Good dreams?" He trailed off, thinking about it.

Inuyasha wanted to punch him in the face. "You need to stop talking." Shippo shrugged, and it was clear that he was not going to drop it. The half-demon sighed. "How the hell did you even come up with that shit?"

"What?" Shippo looked genuinely confused, his head tilted a little to the side.

"The process you go through, to narrow things down or whatever." Inuyasha was finished all of his work behind the bar, which was what he always left until the very end. The clock said he had fifteen minutes until the bartender was going to show up – some chick named Yura – and she would do the rest. "How does it even come to you?"

The kid had the decency to blush a bit, looking down. "Uh, my mom is a psychologist. My parents separated when I was a baby, and when my dad passed away I only had her." Shippo shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "She helps a lot of people and she always said that everyone needs someone to talk to. People just don't know the signs for what's wrong. I look for them, to help people. Maybe I can do for them what no one ever did for my dad."

The last few words were calm, not even a hint of bitterness to them. Inuyasha could pick up the puzzle pieces easily enough – his father suffered from something, probably depression by the sound of it. Inuyasha didn't know what to say. People weren't generally open and honest with him and the half-demon felt like he had to give back. He frowned before shaking his head, leaning on the bar top with a sigh. "There's this girl and her name's Kagome," Inuyasha started. He hated himself for talking about it almost as much as he did for not saying something sooner. "I saw her for the first time at some bookstore, in some city I passed through. We barely spoke and I thought that was that." Inuyasha shrugged, feeling much like Shippo then, like he was mimicking his movements. "Then we randomly met again, at some diner stop in this barely existent town. She needed help getting gas to her car, so I volunteered. She recognized me, we talked and…that was that."

Shippo's face softened somewhat. "But it wasn't, was it?"

"Nope, saw her again back in October at another bar I was working at." Inuyasha shook his head. It sounded absolutely insane. "It was Halloween I think, so she stayed at a hotel that night with friends. She went to school the next city over or something. Since she knew I'd be there, we spent the next day together. Everything was really good…until I dropped her off." Inuyasha paused, knowing what he was going to say next he'd never told anyone before. "I don't stay in one town because I never feel like I can," he explained, trying his best to describe it right. "I get this itch that burns under my skin. It makes me feel like I have to go as fast as I can, that something is catching up to me."

"She asked you to stay?" Shippo asked, his emerald green eyes focused on him.

"No, no, nothing like that," Inuyasha replied. "She asked me to come and visit her, when I could. But right then I felt the itch, like I had to go and… It was pretty much me blowing her off, saying that I would never come back to visit her."

Shippo took a deep breath, fingers tracing a pattern on the wood. "Is that what you meant?"

It took a moment, maybe a moment longer than strictly necessary, but it came all the same. "No."

"Have you gone back?"

Inuyasha growled, running a hand down his face. "Who are you? Dr. Phil? No, I– Of course I haven't. I don't think she'd want to see me now. I would be fine with it too but then there's the–" He stopped abruptly, not really caring to divulge the privacy of his dreams. There was nothing wrong with them – all of them were completely innocent – but maybe they were too innocent. Too telling.

"The dreams." Shippo knew the answer anyways. "She's in them, right? Is she always too far out of reach or too close?"

He shouldn't answer that. Inuyasha knew better than to discuss feelings. Shit only hit the fan and made his life harder. Still, his mouth opened anyways. "I won't let her out of my reach, in the dreams I mean."

The redhead looked rueful, and how that expression could cross his face just made Inuyasha realize that Shippo wasn't some kid. He was a teenager, yes, but he was mature when the conversation was serious enough. He was like a chameleon, playing the right cards to get the right reactions. "When you were out with Kagome, when did the _itch_ start?"

"Uh, when I dropped her off," Inuyasha replied.

Shippo raised both brows, as if he was trying to stare his way into the half-demon's mind. "That's when you first began to feel it? When she was at her door?"

"I guess–" Inuyasha didn't even know where this was going. "No, it started near the end of our…thing. Her friends called and said they had to head back, so I brought her to the hotel. It wasn't really there though, more like it was starting."

"Huh." Shippo licked his lips, leaning back on the bar stool. "Did you maybe ever think for one second that the itch you were feeling wasn't to leave the city because it had been too long? Did it occur to you that maybe you wanted to leave so that you couldn't say goodbye?"

Frowning, Inuyasha thought it over. "But leaving the city and saying goodbye would come hand-in-hand. I'd have to say it no matter what."

"Dear god," Shippo muttered, shaking his head. "No, you idiot. They don't. If I told you goodbye right now, what would you say to me? Keep in mind I'm seeing you tomorrow for work."

It was a stupid question. Inuyasha didn't even want to answer, so he kept his lips shut and waited it out. He was acting more like a child than Dr. Phil across from him, but he couldn't help it. Inuyasha was saved when Yura walked in, her low-cut shirt in the process of being tied behind her neck as she sauntered from the bathroom.

"You're good to go!" she called, letting Inuyasha know that his day was over. Finally.

Shippo still gave him the stink-eye. " _Think about it._ "

The problem was that Inuyasha didn't have to. When the redhead left and went back to his station, the half-demon sighed and rested his head in his arms on the bar top. "Goodbye," he muttered.

Stupid, stupid Dr. Phil.

* * *

It was another week before he left.

"So where are you going?" Shippo asked, chewing obnoxiously on a French fry while he waited for Inuyasha to finish his prep shift. "If I was you, I'd go somewhere warm. With a beach and chicks."

"Oh for the love of god," Inuyasha muttered, giving the redhead a serious look. "I can't believe I talked to you before. You're the epitome of annoyance. How did we have a conversation last time?"

"Last time was serious," Shippo replied, holding out a fry as if for a peace offering. "I can only act like my mother for so long before things get a little scary."

"You are a little scary," Inuyasha whispered under his breath.

"Hey!"

Stupid kid was a demon too. Of course he could hear. "I can psycho-analyze too, you know."

Snorting, Shippo tossed his truce fry at Inuyasha's head. "Please don't hurt yourself." There he went again with another loud bite of French fry. How you could make eating a fry such a noisy activity was beyond Inuyasha. "So where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do."

Inuyasha sighed. "I should strangle you."

"Nah, deep down you like me," Shippo chirped back, grinning. At the dark glare from Inuyasha, his smile only widened. "Okay, maybe _really_ deep down. But it's there! I'm even going to miss you."

"What?" Inuyasha looked at the teen sharply, brows furrowed in confusion. "Why would you do that?"

Shippo laughed. "Man, if I had known your issues were _that_ deep..." It was clear to him when the half-demon didn't even budge that he was truly, horribly serious. "You don't think anyone would miss you? I know you're kind of a dick sometimes but you're…nice…too." The redhead grinned. "Besides, who else am I going to talk to? And I can tell you that I've never been more entertained these past two weeks. A lot of people would probably miss you, you just–"

"No more Dr. Phil!" Inuyasha yelled, reaching out to cover the kid's mouth. When it was apparent Shippo wasn't going to say anymore, the silver-haired man rolled his eyes. "Don't have to get all sentimental on me."

"See? Dick."

It was the first time that Inuyasha had ever truly felt it, but there it was, bubbling just under the surface. He chuckled and shook his head, turning to finish another task still to do. He knew that people missed each other – it was natural. Inuyasha simply never thought it would apply to him. The fact that it did though made him wonder, so he thought about it, letting the idea roll around in his head. "If I was to get a cell phone for calls and stuff–"

"Whoa there. Calling? What year do you live in? It's all about texting and Twitter now," Shippo interrupted.

Inuyasha turned around, wide-eyed and confused. "Twitter?"

Shippo smacked his forehead. "Yeah okay, you caveman. If you get a cell phone, I'll let you call me."

Definitely a bad idea.

"And I'll probably call you too." Shippo grinned then, big cheeks and freckles and piercing green eyes and Inuyasha knew that even if he left, he doubted that this was the last he'd ever see of Shippo.

* * *

He was gone, free again, running. Inuyasha stared up at the darkening sky, realizing he only had a few hours left before nightfall. He didn't want to stop though. He didn't want to dream.

With one destination in mind, Inuyasha kept running.

* * *

The date was Wednesday, April 16th 2014 when Inuyasha stared at the house number, the slanted _73_ making him feel a little nauseous, a little excited.

He raised his fist and knocked.

Inuyasha could hear soft footsteps shuffling around the inside. He could barely contain himself, waiting with baited breath for it to open. When the old door finally creaked open, the sight of long black hair made him exhale, every word he had thought up flown out the window. "Kagome."

But it wasn't her. The woman in question stared at him, her own brown eyes searching inquisitively. Inuyasha didn't know what to do, mostly because this woman _looked_ like Kagome. They had similar hair, the same coloured eyes and the same face. There were small differences – Kagome had rounder features, bigger eyes – but it still made things… _hurt_.

"Sorry, you said Kagome?" the woman asked, giving a small hesitant smile.

"Uh, yeah," Inuyasha mumbled, feeling completely out of his element. The rug was pulled out from under his feet and now he had no words, no ideas and was stuck in some city he didn't know. "I was told she lived here."

"How did you manage that?"

He wasn't in the mood for twenty questions. He didn't feel like describing the three days he'd spent searching, going into every store he could think of that might be small enough to know of her. He'd been lucky with the pharmacist a block down, because he figured with Kagome's past illness she'd have prescriptions to take, or maybe supplements. His mind hadn't really thought of more than that. "Look, will she ever be back here or was I given the wrong address?"

The woman stuck her chin out, defensive. "What's your name?"

"Inuyasha." He bit his lip from saying anything more. It wouldn't do him any good to play games with someone who wasn't going to help him.

"That's what I thought." The black-haired woman sighed and opened the door, gesturing for him to come inside. "My name is Kikyo. I'm Kagome's cousin," she explained. "I've heard a lot about you."

The half-demon cringed, unable to help himself. He also didn't want to step inside, not sure if he was actually welcome. "That's probably not favourable."

"It depends on what mood she's in," Kikyo replied back, honest. "Are you going to step inside or what? It's cold, I'm not wearing a bra and that's awkward."

Inuyasha blinked. "Uh, no. No, thank you. I'll just…wait outside."

"Like a creepy stalker, perfect," Kikyo replied, rolling her eyes. "Enjoy the outdoors."

Before she could slam the door, the woman paused, eyes going somewhere past his right shoulder. Instantly Inuyasha turned, his golden eyes landing on the one thing he'd been wanting for so long. If he thought the hurt was bad previously, it was nothing compared to now.

Kagome stood there, mouth open and eyes focused on him. She watched his every movement as he stepped closer, like she was sure he would disappear at any moment. "What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha stopped a couple steps away from her, hands fidgeting with each other and feeling _dumb_. This was a bad idea, only he couldn't seem to make himself regret it. "I found you. Without fate."

"It was his stalker-ish ways," Kikyo yelled from behind and Inuyasha winced. Okay, so maybe that was called for.

"Thanks Kikyo, we're good," Kagome replied, smiling at her cousin. The sound of the door creaking closed filled the silence, the two of them standing in the middle of the walkway to her house. "What are you doing here?" she repeated, eyes closed off. "It's been months."

"I came here–" He stopped himself, restarted. There was only one way he was going to do this, and if the text message from Shippo was any indication, it was the only hope he had. "I never told you about why I leave." Kagome stared at him, gently waiting. She made no suggestion that she cared, or that she wanted him gone. Inuyasha took it as a sign and kept going, trying to string together words he never much used. "My mother died when I was little. She was human, got really sick and by the time she went to the doctors, it was already too late. I was nine when she passed away."

Kagome didn't say anything, but the look of sadness on her face was enough. He saw her hand reach out, lightly touching the back of his own where it fiddled in front of his stomach.

"I've never stayed in one place since," Inuyasha went on. "I've never felt like I belonged anywhere or that I was particularly welcome anywhere. I…I never had a reason to stay either. I'm also running. I'm running because I think that anytime I stop, whatever it was that got my mom will get someone else too. It's irrational and stupid – believe me, I had a teenager tell me that – but it's there all the same. I just get this overwhelming need to run sometimes and when I dropped you off at that hotel, I ran for a different reason."

She didn't ask why. Kagome let him talk, let him finish. Whether she knew this was hard for him or not, he didn't know. Inuyasha was only grateful that she was letting him speak, because if she stopped him now it would be over and the words just wouldn't come.

"I didn't want to go," he stated. "I didn't want to leave you. And that's never happened before. And I don't know why it's _you_ and I don't know why the hell it's _me_ , but–" He gestured around at the sky, trying to encompass everything – fate. "But it happened. So I'm sorry."

Kagome reached out for him again, her small pale hands lacing with his. "Thank you for telling me that," she replied softly, giving a half-smile. "I understand, really. Well, kind of." She shrugged, looking back at the shut door and then at his face. "How long are you going to be here for?"

"A long while," Inuyasha replied, looking down at their hands. "I have rent to pay and a contract to fulfill for the next year. I got an actual job at the bar we met at last time. They, uh, missed me – the owner and his girlfriend or wife or…whatever. Coincidentally, they're my new roommates."

"Aren't you going to get that urge to leave again?" Kagome asked, her brown orbs trying to search his golden ones.

"Most of my life I've been running. These last few months I've been running away. I need to stop, and figure shit out for myself with familiar faces, not always strangers," Inuyasha answered quietly. "So, I don't know what you're doing but…I live a city over, which is only a thirty minute run for me, and well, I'll be there for the next year…or more. I'm hoping more but, uh, I'd like to see you again. I'm not going to wait for fate anymore or any of that crap."

"Crap, huh?" The corners of her lips twisted up, like she was trying not to smile but failing. "I'll have you know that my cousin Kikyo is _really_ into that stuff."

"Right. Do you have a piece of paper? A pen?" Inuyasha asked, tilting his head hopefully.

Kagome nodded, a bit more confused as she took off her school backpack and handed out the items he wanted. "What are you doing?"

"My cell phone number," he mumbled, squinting his eyes as if it would help him remember. He never knew a combination of ten numbers could be so hard. "So you can call, if you want to. Or…twitter? Something about a bird." Inuyasha shook his head. "Calling is better."

Staring at the piece of paper with wonder, Kagome examined the digits, looking up at him. "You have a phone now?"

"This brat made me do it," Inuyasha mumbled, suddenly embarrassed about the whole stupid thing. Shippo just sent him dumb texts about some person doing…something. "But it's good to have so… I'm going to–" He gestured with his gaze towards the sidewalk, indicating that he'd better leave. "You're still in school I guess so you probably have important stuff to do. But, you know, there's my number and I live nearby and…yeah. I'll hopefully see you." His golden eyes stared down at her, wanting to say more but unable to figure out how to really say it. Kagome didn't move either, her hands still on the piece of paper and pen while her gaze merely watched him.

He moved around her, heading towards the sidewalk when he heard his name.

"Wait, Inuyasha," Kagome called, almost too quiet. She waited while he turned around, pausing for only a moment before walking over and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him.

He could honestly say he'd never been hugged like this before, not by someone other than his mother. Inuyasha found his arms encircling her, one sliding through her hair as he held her close. He couldn't fathom how someone he'd met only a few times could be such a big part of who he wanted to be. That was why when she pulled away slightly, Inuyasha was taken by surprise when her soft lips pressed against his, barely a brush of lips.

He opened his eyes, his mouth inches from hers as he waited, trying to figure out what to do. He knew what he _wanted_ to do, but that wasn't necessarily what he was _supposed_ to do. Kagome was looking right back at him, her hands winding behind his neck, nails ghosting over the skin. Inuyasha couldn't hold back anymore so he leaned down, capturing her lips once more and holding her closer. There was a soft noise at the back of his throat, making itself known when he felt the way she pressed back into him, opening up for him completely. He took the opportunity for what it was, granting him a way to express everything he felt sorry for, everything he missed and messed up and couldn't figure out. Her hands slowly moved to his face, cupping his jaw and keeping him close as her teeth bit at his bottom lip, letting it slide as she pulled away.

"You have no idea," he whispered, his forehead pressed against hers. "No idea."

"When I call, you can fix that, right?" she asked, her voice light but implications serious. "I would hate to let this go."

Inuyasha hummed his agreement, holding her to him. "What is _this_ , exactly?"

"Whatever it wants to be," Kagome suggested. "And as long as you don't bolt the next time I see you, it'll probably turn pretty quickly into an _us_."

"You have to know that this is the fifth time I've met you," he murmured. "Shit doesn't happen this way, not that I know of."

Kagome laughed quietly. "Ask Kikyo and she'll tell you it's fate. Ask me and I'll tell you that everything happens for a reason. And if I ask you?"

"Who the hell cares?" He kissed her again, soft and slow. It had taken four years to get to this point, five meetings and a whole lot of space in between.

But Inuyasha figured that with his number in her pocket and a promise on her lips, that space in between wouldn't matter so much anymore.

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Feedback is love.**


End file.
